Gift transaction system architecture

ABSTRACT

A system architecture of a gift transaction system is disclosed. The gift transaction system can include a buyer interface module, a recipient interface module, a merchant backend interface module, a store front interface module, a curation module, a reminder module, an analytics module, or a media plug-in interface module. A method of operating the gift transaction system under the system architecture includes: providing an embedded widget on a website to determine gift intent to initiate a gift transaction by a buyer account for a recipient account; generating a gift buyer interface for a first client device to personalize a gift package including a gift item; generating a gift recipient interface for a second client device to customize the gift package; and communicating with a merchant backend system to complete the gift transaction to ship the gift package.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/666,399, filed on Aug. 1, 2017, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/794,375, filed on Mar. 11, 2013, whichissued on Sep. 26, 2017 as U.S. Pat. No. 9,773,273 and which claimspriority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/754,497, filed on Jan.18, 2013. Each of the aforementioned applications and patents isincorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

FIELD

This invention relates generally to an electronic commerce system, andin particular to an electronic commerce system with gift transactionmanagement capability.

BACKGROUND

There are several ways to purchase and send gifts to friends and family,including purchasing an item directly in a store, purchasing the itemonline and delivering it to the gift recipient, reimbursing someone forpurchasing a gift for him/herself, purchasing an item on a giftregistry, or purchasing a gift card. Gift buying is a personal gesture.One where much thought and creativity goes into. When a buyer puts inthe thought of selecting a gift on her/his own, the buyer cares aboutthe perceived effort and thoughtfulness put into selecting the gift. Thebuyer wants the recipient to know that effort and thoughtfulness existedin the process and the buyer has specifically thought about therecipient when making the purchase.

In many cases, buyers wanting to purchase a gift online and send apersonal and thoughtful gift are unable to do so due to constraints. Forexample, the constraints can include: not knowing exactly what to getand the social awkwardness of asking the recipient; not getting enoughsupport at the time of purchase to find the ‘right gift’; not knowingpersonal attributes such as size or color of a product; not knowing thephysical address required to ship to the gift to; inability to get thegift they want delivered on time; etc. An alternative stemming fromthese constraints on a gift purchase could be purchasing a gift card.However, the gift card leaves the gift buyer unsatisfied and frustratedbecause the buyer could not convey the thoughtfulness in choosing apersonal and unique gift and because the buyer is forced to highlightthe amount given for the gift instead of the thoughtfulness of the gift.The recipient is sometimes also left unsatisfied with the gift or giftcard, as there is a disappointment in the lack of effort andthoughtfulness put into the gift buying process on behalf of the buyer.When a buyer uses a gift registry or allows a recipient to select a gifton his/her own, the element of surprise is ruined.

In addition, recipients getting the wrong gift are left with the hassleof returning or exchanging the gifts, which is unpleasant. The thoughtof a return or an exchange may also frustrate the buyer knowing thatthey are purchasing a gift that most likely would be returned orexchanged.

Aside of the consumer, online merchants have high operational costs dueto excess returns and exchanges. The online merchants further lose salesdue to inability to complete transactions online due to the situationsdescribed above ending in shopping cart abandonment. Many merchantsfurther lack brand awareness for being a gift destination as they carryitems that are hard to gift, such as clothing or cosmetics. Even withthe multitude of online gift cards and gift registry services, buyersand recipients are still left unsatisfied with the balance betweenpersonalization and ease of gift transactions.

SUMMARY

A system architecture of a gift transaction system is disclosed. Thegift transaction system can include a buyer interface module, arecipient interface module, a merchant backend interface module, a storefront interface module, a curation module, a reminder module, ananalytics module, or a media plug-in interface module. Specifically, themedia plug-in interface module can include a set of applicationprogramming interfaces (APIs) that provides external connection withthird party content providers, applications, and websites. The buyerinterface module is for providing a buyer interface to personalize agift package. The recipient interface module is for providing arecipient interface to customize the gift package. The store frontinterface module and the media plug-in interface module are forintegrating the buyer interface and the recipient interface withmerchant websites or third-party websites, such as social mediawebsites. The curation module is for determining product suggestions foreither the buyer or the recipient. The reminder module is formaintaining customer loyalty by reminding previous users to come back tothe gift transaction system by reminding them of gift givingopportunities, such as holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, or othersocial events. The analytics module is for building a businessintelligence database to support at least the curation module or thereminder module.

Methods of operating a gift transaction system for facilitating gifttransactions are also disclosed. Gift transactions can be initiatedbased on identification of an electronic account of the recipient, suchas an email address, a social network account, or a virtual groupassociation. The identification can include electronic contactinformation. Transaction is sealed based on a recipient interaction withthe gift transaction system. Suggestions for potential gifts aregenerated based on past transactions of the buyer or the recipient,recipient social media account, buyer social media account, or anycombination thereof. Inventory reservation/deduction can be made inresponse to the gift recipient accepting the gift. The gift transactioncan place soft holds on items provided by a merchant system with anexpiration time limit on the soft hold. Gift recipient upon receivingthe gift, can decide to be taken to an exchange interface to exchangethe gift in either the merchant store of the original gift or in aseparate merchant store. The recipient can then be prompted to purchaseother/additional products (upselling), which is a unique opportunity andbenefit for both the merchant and the recipient.

The gift transaction can be provided through a stand-alone websiteand/or service, integrated within various destination websites,integrated within various merchant systems or websites, integrated inshopping cart or checkout processor systems, integrated within socialmedia or social network systems, integrated within payment processors,or any combination thereof. The gift transaction system can be accessedvia a custom application or via a web browser on any number ofelectronic devices capable of doing shopping online.

The gift transaction system includes various authentication methods toensure that ease of gift sending does not compromise security nor fallinto various spam filters or being ignored by the recipient as a spam orunauthorized message. Authentication can be achieved via pass-codes,secret questions, location-based identification, unique identifier suchas email address or phone number. Authentication can be achieved viaboth active and passive means. For example, passive authentication mayinclude the gift transaction system recording an indication, such as animage, a phrase, an audio clip, or a video clip, from the sender to makethe recipient feel more comfortable to access the link or messageregarding the gift. Passive authentication may also include restrictingaccess to the gift based on a physical region to access the gifttransaction system.

The gift transaction system disclosed enables a combination offlexibility, ease, previously only available to gift cards, and thethoughtfulness and gratitude of a gift selection process. Hence, thegift transaction system can have the benefits of both offline and onlineshopping capabilities and experience. The disclosed gift transactionsystem reduces shipping and exchange costs for retailers. Specifically,the gift transaction system enables savings for merchant that frequentlydeal with returns and exchanges by giving a gift recipient anopportunity to exchange, customize, or reject a gift prior to delivery.The gift recipient thus enjoys a surprising and immediate gratificationof receiving a gift along with a guiltless ability to customize orexchange the gift without the need to go in-store or needing agift-receipt. The gift transaction system also reduces shopping cartabandonment problem by reducing steps needed to send a gift andincreases payment realization by leveraging social obligation. With thebuyer being able to obligate him/herself to a purchase prior to paymentand inputting of shipment address, the merchants who utilize the gifttransaction system can increase sales, customer acquisition, andcustomer loyalty. The gift transaction system also enables the retailersto send out of stock items as gifts. The gift recipients are able toknow that they have received a gift before the gift item actuallybecomes available.

Further, some embodiments of the gift transaction system enable a higherlevel of privacy in the social gifting activities. For example, the gifttransaction system allows for a recipient to receive a gift withoutgiving out his/her address. This may be beneficial in online datingsituations, used item sales (e.g., eBay™ or Craigslist™), or customerswho would like to protect the privacy of home addresses from spam.

Some embodiments of the gift transaction system further enables a giftgiving service that align with the modern day etiquette. For example,the gift transaction system can send a gift or a thank you letter orvideo-message without having to bother the recipients for their address.The gift transaction system can also preserve the element of surprise byhaving the recipient see the gift or a representation of the gift alongwith a gift letter. The gift transaction system yet further enables massgifting gestures, eliminating the need of the sender to individuallyobtain shipping addresses from recipients.

Some embodiments have other aspects, elements, features, and steps inaddition to or in place of what is described above. These potentialadditions and replacements are described throughout the rest of thespecification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a system environment of a gift transaction system.

FIG. 2 illustrates a control flow of a gift transaction system.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a method of facilitating a gift sendingtransaction via a gift transaction system.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a method of facilitating a giftacceptance via a gift transaction system.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a method of facilitating a giftexchange via a gift transaction system.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a buyer interface embedded in amerchant website in a gift customization page.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of the buyer interface embedded in themerchant website in a buyer information page.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of the buyer interface embedded in themerchant website in a gift confirmation page.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a recipient interface embedded in themerchant website in a gift alert page.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of the recipient interface embedded inthe merchant website in a gift shipment page.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of the recipient interface embedded inthe merchant website in a note page.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of the recipient interface embedded inthe merchant website in an acceptance confirmation page.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of an up-sale interface embedded in themerchant website.

FIG. 14 is an illustration of a method of sending a gift via a buyerdevice and a recipient device.

FIG. 15 is a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the exampleform of a computer system within which a set of instructions, forcausing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies ormodules discussed herein, may be executed.

The figures depict various embodiments for purposes of illustrationonly. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the followingdiscussion that alternative embodiments of the structures and methodsillustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principlesdescribed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a system environment 100 of a gift transaction system102. The gift transaction system 102 is a computer system configured toprovide a gift sending platform between two or more consumers via one ormore merchant systems, such as a merchant system 104. The gifttransaction system 102 can be a computer system or an electronic systemwith computer functionalities as described in FIG. 15. The merchantsystem 104 is a computer system configured to provide an interface forbuyers to make and process transactions for properties, products, orservices provided from a merchant. The merchant system 104 can be acomputer system or an electronic system with computer functionalities asdescribed in FIG. 15.

A buyer via one of the client devices 106 can access a store front 108of the merchant system 104. The store front 108 is a merchant interfacegenerated by the merchant system 104 for buyers to make transactions forproperties, virtual goods, products, or services of the merchant. Thebuyer can initiate a gift transaction via the store front 108. The storefront 108 can add flags to the item pages to make the item eligible orineligible for gifting. The store front 108 can have a default of nogifting available, and only flagged items are eligible for gifting.Alternatively, the store front 108 can have a default of giftingcapability, and only flagged items are not eligible for gifting. Theflags can be determined based on a set of logic defined by product type,user profile, user interaction with the store front 108, or anycombination thereof.

In this disclosure, a buyer of a gift transaction is presumed to be thegift sender and the person attributed to be responsible for sending thegift. However, it is understood that the gift transaction system 102 canhandle a situation where those three entities are related but not thesame. For example, an actual gift sender operating with the gifttransaction system 102 may be an assistant of a buyer, who is paying forthe gift item, and the gift notice may attribute the gift source as thehusband of the actual buyer. The recipient in this disclosure can be theperson the gift is intended for or an agent of the person the gift isintended for, such as a parent or a husband.

The buyer can access a buyer interface generated by the gift transactionsystem 102 and shown on one of the client devices 106. The buyerinterface can be embedded on the store front 108 to facilitate a gifttransaction. The gift transaction can be a close loop transaction thatonly allows the buyer to send a gift item from a single store and therecipient to exchange the gift within the single store. The gifttransaction can also be an open loop transaction that allows the buyerto purchase from multiple store fronts and the recipient can exchangethrough multiple store fronts.

Upon confirming sending a gift, a recipient can accept the gift item viaa recipient interface generated by the gift transaction system 102. Therecipient interface including an exchange interface can be shown on arecipient device. The recipient device can be one of the client devices106. The client devices 106 are electronic devices capable ofcommunicating with the store front 108 and the gift transaction system102. The client devices 106 can include tablets, laptop computers,desktop computers, mobile phones, smart phones, electronic kiosks,electronic accessories, smart vehicles, smart appliances, smart TV,point of sale terminals, game consoles, or any combination thereof.

The merchant system 104 can also include a backend engine 110. Thebackend engine 110 is configured to process the transactions made viathe store front 108. The backend engine 110 can track inventories, trackorders, authorize payments, and perform other transaction relatedprocesses.

The merchant system 104, the gift transaction system 102, and the clientdevices 106 can communicate with each other through a network channel112. The network channel 112 can include one or more communicationnetworks that can be linked together, including any combination of localarea and/or wide area networks, using both wired and wirelesscommunication systems. The network channel 112 can include point-of-salenetworks, TV cables, Ethernet cables, phone lines, local area networks,cellular networks including SMS network, or any combination thereof. Inone embodiment, the network channel 112 uses standard communicationstechnologies and/or protocols. Thus, the network channel 112 may includelinks using technologies such as Ethernet, 802.11, worldwideinteroperability for microwave access (WiMAX), 3G, 4G, CDMA, digitalsubscriber line (DSL), etc. Similarly, the networking protocols used onthe network channel 112 may include multiprotocol label switching(MPLS), transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), UserDatagram Protocol (UDP), hypertext transport protocol (HTTP), simplemail transfer protocol (SMTP) and file transfer protocol (FTP). Dataexchanged over the network channel 112 may be represented usingtechnologies and/or formats including hypertext markup language (HTML)or extensible markup language (XML). In addition, all or some of linkscan be encrypted using conventional encryption technologies such assecure sockets layer (SSL), transport layer security (TLS), and InternetProtocol security (IPsec).

Multiple buyers and/or multiple recipients and/or multiple gift itemscan belong to a single gift transaction. For example, a buyer caninitiate a gift transaction. Other buyers can then add theircontribution to the gift transaction for the same recipient orrecipients. In another example, a buyer can purchase a gift item for afamily of recipients, where the gift transaction is not completedwithout approval from all of the recipients. In yet another example, abuyer can purchase a bundle of gifts for a recipient. The bundle ofgifts can be configured by either the buyer or the merchant. The bundleof gifts can include different items and services from differentmerchants. Multiple buyers can also add to the original gift transactionfor the recipient, whether adding money or adding products to the bundleof gifts. A gift “item” in this disclosure is defined as a property, aservice, a product, an option, or other derivatives sold by a merchant.For example, gift items can include movies, music files, digital rightsmanagement licenses, spa/massage services, coffee shop coupons, vacationvouchers, vacation home rentals, proof of charity donation, flighttickets, sports game tickets, physical items, vehicles, or anycombination thereof. The gift item can have a single monetary value forexchange purposes or have a range of values for exchange purposes. A“buyer” in this disclosure is defined as one or more persons or entitiesresponsible for purchasing a gift. However, it is understood that thebuyer can specify in the gift transaction that the gift-giving person(s)is intended to be someone else. A “recipient” in this disclosure isdefined as one or more persons or entities receiving the gift, includinga charity entity.

FIG. 2 illustrates a control flow of a gift transaction system 200. Thegift transaction system 200 can be the gift transaction system 102 ofFIG. 1. The gift transaction system 200 can include one or more methodsof facilitating a gift transaction. The one or more methods can beimplemented by components, storages, and modules described below. Themodules can be implemented as hardware components, software modules, orany combination thereof. For example, the modules described can besoftware modules implemented as instructions on a non-transitory memorycapable of being executed by a processor or a controller on a machinedescribed in FIG. 15.

Each of the modules can operate individually and independently of othermodules. Some or all of the modules can be combined as one module. Asingle module can also be divided into sub-modules, each performingseparate method step or method steps of the single module. The modulescan share access to a memory space. One module can access data accessedby or transformed by another module. The modules can be considered“coupled” to one another. The modules can share a physical connection ora virtual connection, directly or indirectly, allowing data accessed ormodified from one module to be accessed in another module, asillustrated by the line or arrow connections in FIG. 2.

The storages or “stores”, described in this disclosure are hardwarecomponents or portions of hardware components for storing digital data.Each of the storage can be a single physical entity or distributedthrough multiple physical devices. Each of the storage can be onseparate physical device or share the same physical device or devices.Each of the stores can allocate specific storage spaces for run-timeapplications.

The gift transaction system 200 can include additional, fewer, ordifferent modules for various applications. Conventional components suchas network interfaces, security functions, load balancers, failoverservers, management and network operations consoles, and the like arenot shown so as to not obscure the details of the system.

The gift transaction system 200 includes a buyer interface module 202and a recipient interface module 204. The buyer interface module 202 isconfigured to generate an interface on the client devices 206 for abuyer of a gift. The client devices 206 can be the client devices 106 ofFIG. 1. The buyer interface module 202 can be presented as a mobilephone application, a webpage, an embedded widget within a webpage, a POSterminal interface, a kiosk interface, a gaming console interface, orany combination thereof.

The gift transaction system 200 includes a store front interface 210.The store front interface 210 is configured to embed access to the buyerinterface module 202 in a store front of a merchant system 212. In someembodiments, the merchant store front can define where a link to thebuyer interface can appear. In other embodiments, the buyer interfacemodule 202 has logics defining where in the webpage structure of themerchant store front, such as DOM structure, to place the buyerinterface. The store front interface 210 can access an ApplicationProgramming Interface (API) of the merchant system 212, and provideaccess to the gift transaction system 200 via an API. The store frontinterface 210 can provide access to the buyer interface from themerchant store front with minimal modification to the merchant storefront, such as the store front 108 of FIG. 1. For example, the storefront interface 210 can facilitate access to the buyer interface viabrowser-side script on the website of the merchant. The gift transactionsystem 200 can modify the merchant store front via the store frontinterface 210. The merchant system 212 can also modify the buyerinterface module 202 via the store front interface 210. The store frontinterface 210 can perform gift intent analysis to determine when toactivate the buyer interface module 202 for the buyer. The gift intentanalysis can be based on navigation to gift section pages of the storefront, searching for products that do not fit the buyer profile,interest in gift related user interface (UI) elements, or signals fromother social media services. The level of gift intent can be used tomodify the buyer interface, such as making gift suggestions, customizingwebsite messages, making gift-related UI elements more prominent, orsuggesting a gift section of the merchant store front.

The buyer interface can be integrated within a merchant store front viathe store front interface 210. The store front interface 210 can add,change, or remove user interface elements, gift buttons, and display thebuyer interface overlay over or embedded within the store frontinterface 210. The store front interface 210 can modify the checkoutprocess of the merchant system 212, such as removing shipping addressand payment information questions from the checkout flow.

The gift transaction system 200 also includes a media plug-in interfacemodule 214. The media plug-in interface module 214 can be an API for athird-party website, such as a social media service or a destinationwebsite. For example, the media plug-in interface module 214 can linkthird-party websites and services to the buyer interface module 202.Further, the media plug-in interface module 214 can also access thesocial media service to download social graph information related toeither the buyer or the recipient from the social media service. Foranother example, the media plug-in interface module 214 can link thebuyer interface module 202 to the destination websites, such as a linkor an embedded widget of the buyer interface on social bloggingwebsites, the Pinterest™ website, social media websites, auctionwebsites, ancestry history websites, dating websites, or other websites.The buyer interface module 202 can provide a script to embed access tothe buyer interface as a gifting widget within the third party websites.

The media plug-in interface module 214 can further facilitate followersof celebrities to send real gifts to the celebrities via social mediawebsites. The followers need not to have the actual shipping address ofthe celebrities. The followers (i.e., buyers) can initiate a gifttransaction via the buyer interface. The buyer interface can provide tothe follower a link to a gift notification page. The link can bemanually or automatically posted on social media networks such asFacebook/Twitter. While links to the gift transactions can bebroadcasted publicly, only the intended recipient can claim the giftitem and receive it after authentication using an underlying socialnetwork connected to the gift transaction system 200 via the mediaplug-in interface module 214. The public can either only view the giftitem or the link would show nothing to a viewer who is not the intendedrecipient, where preference of such would be set by the buyer or bepre-set by a system-wide setting. The inverse can also apply to the gifttransaction system 200 where gifts from a celebrity can be sent out tothe followers of the celebrity on a social media network without theneed for a shipping address or a contact email. The celebrity can sharea link generated from the buyer interface, and restrict claiming of thegifts to followers of the celebrity account on a social media network,such as Twitter™ or Facebook Pages. In another example, an organizationcan authorize the human resource department or management to sendemployee gifts in an electronic way, or for employees to send to otheremployees gifts (such as a manager-employee relationship within anorganization) without knowing the recipient's physical address.

The buyer interface module 202 can be activated when gift intent isdetected in the store front interface 210. Once the gift intent isdetected, the store front interface 210 can be set to a gift mode. Inthe gift mode, the buyer interface module 202 can readily generate thebuyer interface to select items to send to potential recipients. Thebuyer interface module 202 can enable immediate sending off of gifts byreducing the steps needed for the gift sending process. A gift can besent by receiving a selection of at least one gift and receiving acontact point for the recipient. The contact point can be an emailaddress of the recipient or a social media account. Hence the buyerinterface module 202 enables a way to send real gifts without knowingthe shipping address of the recipient. The buyer interface module 202can also initiate sending of a gift item prior to payment.

The buyer interface module 202 through the buyer interface enables thebuyer to define the gift, including bundled gift items. The buyerinterface module 202 allows the buyer to specify an overall exchangebudget aside from selecting a gift item. The buyer interface module 202allows the buyer to select the gift item without fully customizing thegift item. For example, the gift item can be sent without knowing thecolor preference or size of the gift item. The full customization can beleft to the recipient interface module 204.

If the buyer interface module 202 provides the buyer interface to adevice with a camera, the buyer interface module 202 can facilitatesnapping a picture of an item at a store to initiate a gift transaction.The picture can be part of a gift greeting page/card to be sent togetherwith the gift item notice. The buyer interface module 202 can alsofacilitate snapping a picture of a product identifier, such as UPC code,to be used to select the gift item via a merchant backend interfacemodule 216. The gift item notice can then be generated from the giftitem identified by the product identifier.

The gift greeting page/card can be personalized by a buyer, includingpersonalized message, background, multimedia effects, pictures,photographs, animations, video clips, sound bites, or any combinationthereof. The gift greeting page/card can also be generated based ontemplates pre-determined on the buyer interface module 202. For example,the gift greeting page/card by default can include a photo of the giftitem from either the buyer's device or from the merchant store front.For another example, the gift greeting page/card can include anadvertisement from the manufacturer or reseller of the product. Becauseadvertisements of products and services are well thought out messagesappealing to consumers on an emotional level, a connection between apre-existing advertisement multimedia and gifts broadens the reaches ofmarket branding of such products or services.

Once a gift greeting page/card along with a gift notice has been sent,the buyer interface module 202 can store the pending gift transaction ona pending transaction store 218. The gift greeting page/card along withthe gift notice generated can be sent over to a recipient contact pointincluding an email account, a social media/network account, a cellularphone message center (e.g., SMS or WhatsApp™), or any combinationthereof. The gift greeting page/card can also be printed out via aprinter coupled to the client devices 206. A website link to therecipient interface module 204 can be provided on the gift card.

The recipient interface module 204 is configured to generate aninterface for a gift recipient, where the interface is accessible fromthe client devices 206. The recipient interface module 204 can generatea gift recipient interface as a mobile phone application, a webpage, anembedded widget within a webpage, a POS terminal interface, a kioskinterface, a gaming console interface, or any combination thereof.

The recipient interface module 204 can provide to the gift recipient aninteractive gift notification sent to the contact point (e.g., emailaddress) of the recipient. For example, the recipient interface module204 can render the gift notification and any multimedia attachment. Forexample, the gift notification can include greeting text, audio message,or video message from the buyer. The gift notification can also includemarketing material associated with the gift item or tutorial informationassociated with the gift item. This content can come from the onlinestore, a database storage of the gift transaction system 200, or a thirdparty content provider that has access to the gift transaction system200 through various APIs or other means. The recipient interface module204 can receive and store a gift list from the gift recipients.

The buyer interface module 202 and the recipient interface module 204can provide post-gift-transaction management, such as a list ofpreviously received gifts and from whom the gift was sent. Either thebuyer or the recipient can review this information to determine whetherthey should be returning a social favor, and whether it is sociallyappropriate to send or re-send a gift item. Suggestions to return thesocial favor can also be generated on the buyer interface or therecipient interface.

The buyer interface module 202 and the recipient interface module 204can iteratively optimize up-sale items and UI elements in the gifttransaction process by reconfiguring the up-sale items and the UIelements for different buyers and recipients to maximize transactions.

The gift transaction system 200 includes a transaction store 220. Thetransaction store 220 is a database containing completed gifttransactions that has passed through the gift transaction system 200.The transaction store 220 can be accessed by the merchant system 212 orother third-party services via an API.

The gift transaction system 200 includes the merchant backend interfacemodule 216. The merchant backend interface module 216 is configured toaccess databases of the merchant system 212, such as the merchant system104 of FIG. 1. Specifically, the merchant backend interface module 216can provide access to the backend engine 110 of FIG. 1. The merchantbackend interface module 216 can also be configured to provide anapplication programming interface (API) for the backend engine 110 toprovide access to the gift transaction system 200. For example, themerchant system 212 can push updates regarding delivery of gift items tothe gift transaction system 200 and the gift transaction system 200 canrequest inventory information of particular items from the merchantsystem 212. The merchant backend interface module 216 enables extractionof product information, photographs, pricing, availability, dimensions,and colors from the merchant system 212 in run-time. The merchantbackend interface module 216 can facilitate generation gift cardscompatible with the merchant system 212 and/or with other stored valueproviders programmatically.

The gift transaction system 200 includes a reminder module 222. Thereminder module 222 is configured to generate a reminder message topotential buyers to purchase gifts. The reminder message can begenerated for specific recipients, for specific occasions, with specificgifts, or any combination thereof. The reminder message can be sent viaemail, cellular message, mobile application notification, social mediaservices, physical delivery, browser pop-up, or any combination thereof.The reminder module 222 can be coupled to the media plug-in interfacemodule 214 to access social graph information of a potential buyer froma social media service, such as Facebook™.

For example, the reminder module 222 can determine whether to generate areminder message based on relationship strength between a buyer and arecipient, urgency of a special occasion, profile information of thebuyer or the recipient, privacy setting of the buyer or the recipient,gift-related configuration of the buyer or recipient account, or anycombination thereof. The relationship strength can be provided by thesocial graph, can be based on the number of mutual friends, the numberof gift transactions between the buyer and the recipient, or otherheuristic related to the transaction store 220 and/or the social graph.The reminder module 222 can provide a discount to a gift transactioninitiated from the reminder message.

The reminder module 222 can also be configured to re-connect with a giftrecipient to manage any pending gift transactions or recently completedgift transactions. For example, the reminder module 222 can sendreminders to the recipient of a gift item to open the gift alert toaccept or exchange the gift item. The reminder module 222 can alsoinform the recipient and/or the buyer when the price of the item isabout to change, such as within 16 hours.

The reminder module 222 can be configured to avoid spam filters andimprove readability. For example, the buyer or gift sender name can beplace in every message to the recipient and vice versa. Personallanguages and greetings input should be encouraged in the buyerinterface module 202 and the recipient interface module 204 topersonalize reminder messages. Consecutive messages can bedifferentiated by different phrasing and/or language structure and size.The reminder module 222 can allow the buyer or the recipient topersonalize each message sent prior to sending. For completed gifttransactions, the reminder module 222 can provide tutorials or productbranding videos to the recipients to enhance the user experience of thegift transaction system 200.

The gift transaction system 200 includes a curation module 224. Thecuration module 224 is configured to provide item recommendations to thebuyer through the buyer interface module 202 or to the recipient throughthe recipient interface module 204. The item recommendations can bebased on business intelligence and user taste profiling generated by thegift transaction system 200 as described below. The item recommendationscan also be based on proprietary information from the merchant system212.

The gift transaction system 200 includes a gift card module 228. Thegift card module 228 can be coupled to a stored value provider 232. Thegift card module 228 is configured to generate a gift card with storedvalue for a recipient. The gift card module 228 can generate the giftcard in response to the recipient interface module 204 detecting apositive balance after an exchange of a gift item has occurred. The giftcard module 228 can include specific gift associated with the gift card.The gift card can include one or several gift item alternatives. Thegift card module 228 can also include videos, photos, tutorials,interactive greetings, or any combination thereof. A physical version ofthe gift card can be printed with a link to access the electroniccontents for the gift card.

In one embodiment, the gift card generated can have three states: clean,registered, or paid for. In the clean state, the gift card has a barcodeand a product or store information, but there is no sender/recipientinformation, no custom greeting, and no payment balance. In theregistered mode, the gift card has sender/recipient information inaddition to the other information in the clean mode, but the gift cardhas no payment balance. In the paid for mode, the gift card has apayment balance and has all of the information in the registered mode.Either a buyer or a recipient of the gift card can register the giftcard in clean mode and convert it to the registered mode. The buyer thencan be contacted by the gift transaction system 200 to make payment forthe payment balance of the gift card. Once payment is received, the giftcard is changed to the pay-for mode.

The gift transaction system 200 includes an analytics module 234. Theanalytics module 234 is configured to analyze user interactions throughthe gift transaction system 200, including social media systems andmerchant systems connected to the gift transaction system 200. Theanalytics module 234 can also be configured to calculate relevantbehavioral trends regarding each recipient and each buyer relative toeach merchant. The analytics module 234 can record both the interactionanalysis and behavioral trends, such as recording the analysis andtrends in an analytics database store 238.

The analytics module 234 can generate user-based analytics databases aswell as gift-item-based (product based or service based) analyticsdatabases in the analytics database store 238. These databases can bebased on an analysis of the transaction store 220 combined with socialgraph information from a social media service via the media plug-ininterface module 214. The databases in the analytics database store 238can also be combined with proprietary information from a specificmerchant via the merchant backend interface module 216. For example, theinteraction analysis can include strength of relationships between thebuyer and the recipient. For example, the behavioral trends can includethe most likely product for the recipient and the buyer to purchase. Thebehavioral trends can also include the likelihood that a social event(e.g., birthdays) associated with a buyer account stored on a socialmedia website accessed through the media plug-in interface module 214 islikely to generate a gift transaction.

Gift item related analysis can include preferred products per specificusers or profiles, end to end product cycle, upselling analysisincluding amount, type of events, and type of products that maximizesup-sales, or any combination thereof. The product related analysis canbe used to generate recommendation feeds on the buyer interface module202 or the recipient interface module 204. Product related analysis canalso include exchange rates of each product, such as which products arebeing exchanged by recipients more frequently, as well as analyzingattributes of products or links between type of products that are beingexchanged to and from other type of products.

Gift item related analysis includes calculation of a giftability score.The giftability score is used by the gift transaction system 200 to sortproducts and services by their fit for being a good gift. Thegiftability score serves to better predict whether a certain gift itemwould make a good gift in the eyes of consumers. The analytics module234 can record which gift items are the most popular for being sent asgifts. The analytics module 234 can also record which gift items aremore likely to be accepted by the recipient versus being exchanged. Theanalytics module 234 can further record which gift items are frequentlyselected as a replacement item in a gift exchange. The analytics module234 can calculate a weighted average of the above metrics. Othergift-related signals can also be added to the weighted average, such astime to gift acceptance, time to exchange, and etc.

User-based analytics can be used to modify the giftability score. Forexample, a modified giftability score can be calculated based onuser-specific demographics. User-specific demographics can includesgeographical regions of the buyer or recipient, age range of the buyeror recipient, taste profiles of the buyer or recipient, social networksof the buyer or recipient, profile information of the buyer orrecipient, other buyer or recipient profile information, or anycombination thereof. The specific taste profile can be determined basedon past purchases, past exchanges, social network explicit or implicitconnections (e.g., Facebook™ likes), website broadcasts (e.g., tweetsvia Twitter™ and pins via Pinterest™), personal attributes enteredand/or known by either the buyer or the recipient, or any combinationthereof. The modified giftability score can also be calculated based ona personalized behavior trend. The user-specific demographics and theuser-specific behavior trend can include adjustments to the generalgiftability score of the gift-item. This user-specific demographic orpersonalization adjustment can be calculated in real-time as a buyerinterface is generated, or pre-calculated asynchronously from thereal-time purchase. Sorting by gift item centric giftability score,demographic-specific giftability score, or personalized giftabilityscore would allow progressively better gift recommendation and curationto occur.

The giftability score can be used by the buyer interface module 202 topresent products and services as potential options as a gift item. Thegiftability score can be used by the recipient interface module 204 topresent products and services as potential options for gift exchanges.The giftability score can be used by the curation module 224 to sort theitem recommendation list generated by the curation module 224. Thegiftability score can further be used by the reminder module 222 todetermine gift item recommendations for specific gifting reminders.

The analytics module 234 can generate valuable business intelligenceincluding conversion rate of reminder messages from the reminder module222, up-sale rates from recommendation feeds of the curation module 224,buyer purchasing profile, recipient purchasing profile, recipient giftexchange rate and preference, social graphs of the buyer or therecipient, other monetization metrics from the merchant system 212, orany combination thereof.

The analytics module 234 can generate a gift social graph amongst useraccounts. The gift social graph can be a modification of a social graphretrieved from a social media service. The gift social graph can definerelationships and interactions between user accounts. The strength ofthe relationship can be calculated as described above, further includingamount and price of gift items in gift transactions. The gift socialgraph can include a profile of each user account.

The analytics module 234 can generate a taste profile for different usertypes, such as gender, age, or geographical location. The analyticsmodule 234 can identify user types based on grouping of gift transactiondata. Each taste profile is then associated with preferred brands and/orproduct categories. Personal information is aggregated into the tasteprofiles that drive the recommendation feed of the curation module 224.The merchant system 212 can have access to the analytics database store238 to utilize the business intelligence to improve monetization of themerchant sales.

The analytics database store 238 can further include a shipping addressdatabase that associates shipping addresses with email addresses, socialmedia accounts, phone numbers, or any combination thereof. The shippingaddress database can be used to pre-fill recipient shipping address onthe recipient interface module 204. The shipping address database can beused for tax or shipping cost estimations. The analytics module 234 candetermine a certainty level of each shipping address. The aggressivenessof using the stored shipping addresses in the buyer and recipientinterfaces can be adjusted based on the certainty level.

The gift transaction system 200 includes a security module 240. Thesecurity module 240 is configured to prevent fraud associated with thegift transaction. The security module 240 can be coupled to therecipient interface module 204 to authenticate the recipient by emailaccount access or social media service sign-in. The buyer and/or therecipient can also authenticate in other explicit or implicit manners,such as passphrase, secret questions or shared experience questions. Thesecurity module 240 can also limit frequency of receiving or sending ofgifts. The security module 240 can also cross check gift transactiongeolocations to ensure that the gift transactions occur consistentlygeographically. When an inconsistency is detected, the gift transactionis halted pending an investigation.

Other fraud prevention mechanisms can include: (a) detecting, rejecting,or flagging internet protocol (IP) addresses that belong to proxies andanonymizers; (b) verifying geographical location via IP address of therecipient is within the same region as the shipping address; (c)ensuring that all requests around a gift transaction come from the samephysical region, such as via IP-based geographical location; (d)cross-referencing billing address with the buyer's IP-based geographicallocation; (e) verifying contact points, such as email addresses orsocial media accounts, to ensure that they are not newly created; (f)ranking generic email addresses (e.g., free accounts like @yahoo.com and@gmail.com) lower than corporate addresses in terms of security risk;(g) cross-referencing the buyer account and the recipient account onsocial media systems and verifying that the social media accounts arefilled with real-life content; (h) verifying via phone call or SMSmessage; (i) detecting patterns across all gift transactions includingsituations where many different gift transactions correspond to the samecredit card, same physical address, same recipient, same sender, or sameemail address/credentials; (j) generating gift-based social networkbased connections made via gift transactions between buyer and recipientand flagging new corners to the gift-based social network as potentialfraudulent buyer or recipient, or any combination thereof.

In some embodiments of the gift transaction system 200, gifttransactions can occur based on unverified mailing addresses andunverified credit card information. This may expose the system to fraudand abuse. The fraud prevention mechanisms provided by the securitymodule 240 can minimize the possibility of abuses and fraudulenttransactions. Based on various fraud prevention mechanisms, a gifttransaction could be approved, flagged for additional automaticverification (e.g., additional email required or phone numberverification), flagged for manual verification, or rejected.

The gift transaction system 200 includes a payment module 242. Thepayment module 242 is configured to charge fees associated with gifttransactions. The payment module 242 can charge a premium fee perpackage sent from the buyer. The payment module 242 can charge a fee pergift transaction or up-sale transaction from the merchants via themerchant backend interface module 216. The payment module 242 can chargea fee from a payment processor service per gift transaction. The paymentmodule 242 can charge a fee from the shipping provider. The paymentmodule 242 can also charge a one-time fee to integrate the gifttransaction system 200 to a third-party service.

The payment module 242 can be coupled to third-party e-commerceplatforms for payment processing and accounting amongst the buyer, themerchant, the payment processors, and the gift transaction system 200.The payment module 242 can be link the final payment of the gift itemsto the merchant account for ease of integration.

The gift transaction system 200 can include a gift list store 244. Thegift list store 244 is configured to store wish-lists of users andgift-lists of users. The gift-lists allow the buyer to keep track ofideas for gifts. The wish-lists allow the curation module 224 to makeaccurate recommendations to the buyers for things on the recipient wishlist. The wish list can also serve to replace the traditional use ofgift registries. The recipient can publish a wish list. All gift buyerscan obligate themselves to gift items on the list. When the gift itemsare sent, the recipient can review the sent gifts and make any exchangeson the sent gift list. Once all gifts are accepted or exchanged, thenthe gift buyers can make the payments. The wish lists and the gift listscan be merchant specific or across multiple merchants.

The techniques introduced in the modules herein can be implemented byprogrammable circuitry programmed or configured by software and/orfirmware, or they can be implemented by entirely by special-purpose“hardwired” circuitry, or in a combination of such forms. Suchspecial-purpose circuitry (if any) can be in the form of, for example,one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs),programmable logic devices (PLDs), field-programmable gate arrays(FPGAs), etc.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a method 300 of facilitating a giftsending transaction via a gift transaction system, such as the gifttransaction system 102 of FIG. 1. The method 300 can begin withdetermining gift intent based on a buyer input at a step 302. The giftintent can be determined by registering a click of a link in an emailreminder, registering a click on a mobile phone application, shopping ata merchant store front in a gift mode, or any combination thereof. Thebuyer is allowed access to one or more merchant store to review itemsprovided by the merchant. The gift intent can include a buyer contactentry indicating how the buyer can be contacted, such as an emailaddress or an account identifier. A link or button to send gifts can beintegrated on specific product pages of the merchant store front. A linkor button to send gifts can be integrated with the checkout process ofthe merchant store front to send contents of shopping cart as gifts. Thebuyer interface can detect approaching shopping cart abandonment bycalculating delay in purchase process as well as comparing buyerbehavior trends. Once approaching shopping cart abandonment is detected,the gift transaction system can be offered as a solution to complete atransaction without shipping address or payment or actual inventory ofthe gift item. However, the buyer can still have the option of puttingin the shipping address and making the payment via the buyer interface.

At a step 304 of the method 300, the gift transaction system can receivea gift selection indication. The gift selection indication can be aproduct identifier, such as a UPC code, together with a merchantidentifier. The gift selection indication can also be a set of productidentifiers from the same merchant indicating a same-store gift bundle.The gift selection indication can further be a set of productidentifiers from different partner merchants indicating a global giftbundle. The buyer interface can facilitate the gift selection process bymaking recommendations, gift suggestions, and gift bundle suggestions.These recommendations can be provided by the curation module 224 of FIG.2.

When multiple gift selections are indicated, the gift selections can beorganized in a gift basket, similar to a shopping cart that assemblesgifts for sending. Alternatively, the gift selections can be organizedin a shopping cart where the multiple gifts can be paid as a group.

As part of the gift selection process, the buyer can select one or moregift alternatives. The gift alternatives can be selected by therecipient instead of the originally selected gift item made by thebuyer. The buyer can be charged for the gift alternatives when accepted.The stored credit for the exchange process can be based on the price ofthe originally selected gift. The buyer may be prompted to selectalternative or additional gifts from sources outside the original onlinemerchant.

Once the gift is selected, the buyer can be prompted to input arecipient contact on a buyer interface, such as the buyer interfacegenerated by the buyer interface module 202 of FIG. 2. At a step 306 ofthe method 300, the gift transaction system can receive a recipientcontact identifier. The recipient contact identifier can include anemail address, a social media account, an alias name in a social medianetwork or virtual game, or any combination thereof. Then, the method300 includes generating a gift alert of a gift transaction based on therecipient contact identifier and the gift selection indication at a step308. The gift alert can be or provide access to an interactive giftnotification in the form of a recipient interface generated by therecipient interface module 204 of FIG. 2.

The gift alert can be generated as a confirmation of the gifttransaction being created. Alternatively, a separate confirmation pagecan be generated on the buyer interface. Photos, videos, stories,interactive multimedia applications of the merchant or of the gift itemcan be included in the gift alert. The product tutorial and user guidecan also be included in the gift alert.

The gift alert can include sending an email, generating a printable pagedepicting the gift selection, sending a SMS message, sending a socialnetwork message, or any combination thereof. The gift alert can also besent from one mobile device to another mobile device using a mobileapplication such as Bump™.

The printable instance of the gift alert can be printed at home orprinted professionally and shipping to the recipient. Pre-made giftpages can be used as the gift alert. For example, a barcode of thepre-made gift page can be registered with the gift transaction system102. For another example, a bar code of a particular gift transactioncan be filled in on the pre-made gift page. The gift alert can includegreeting card templates, animation templates, audio templates, personalvideos, personal photos, personal audio, or any combination thereof.After the gift alert has been sent, the merchant backend interfacemodule 216 of FIG. 2 can place a soft hold on the gift item. The softhold can have an expiration time after which the gift item from themerchant can be purchased by someone else.

Optionally, after the gift alert is sent, the method 300 can includegenerating an item suggestion based on the gift transaction at a step310. The item suggestion can be based on an account identity of thebuyer, such as a preference profile associated with the buyer accountidentify. The item suggestion can be based on the gift selectionindication. The item suggestion can be based on the recipient contactidentifier, such as a preference profile associated with the recipientcontact identifier. The item suggestion can be a suggestion to create afurther gift transaction with the same recipient or to create a furthergift transaction with a different recipient. The item suggestion canalso be an up-sale advertisement to suggest an item for the buyerhimself or herself.

Optionally, in response to generating the gift alert, the method 300 canalso include generating a recipient suggestion. The recipient suggestioncan be based on the buyer account identity. The recipient suggestion canbe coupled together with the item suggestion. The recipient suggestioncan be based on a social media network associated with the buyer accountidentity.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a method of facilitating a giftacceptance via a gift transaction system, such as the gift transactionsystem 102 of FIG. 1. The method 400 can begin with a step 402 ofgenerating a recipient interface to affirm an acceptance of a gift on aclient device. The recipient interface can include a multimediarepresentation of the gift, a buyer identifier, a gift note, or anycombination thereof. The recipient interface can be triggered via a linkaccessible through a client device with networked capability to accessthe gift transaction system 102. The link can be stored in an electronicmessage or can be entered manually on an Internet browser. Optionally,the method 400 can include a step 404 of generating an up-sale item set.The up-sale item set can be generated based on the recipient identity.The up-sale item set can be based on the gift. The up-sale item set canbe based on a buyer identity of the gift. The up-sale item set can bedrawn from the originating merchant store, from one of the merchantstore providers/suppliers, or other merchant stores compatible with thegift transaction system 102.

Upon reviewing the recipient interface, the recipient can either chooseto accept the gift, exchange the gift, or reject the gift. For example,in a step 406, the method 400 can include receiving an affirmation ofgift acceptance via the recipient interface. Receiving the affirmationcan include receiving the affirmation with customization of the gift,such as specified size, color, engravement, other customizations, or anycombination thereof.

Following the affirmation, the method 400 includes receiving a shippingaddress via the buyer interface in a step 408. The shipping address canbe pre-filled from a previous transaction, from a social media serviceaccount, or from a browser cookie. Following the affirmation, the method400 can also include generating a thank you note for the buyer in a step410. In response to receiving the shipping address, the method 400 canfollow with a step 412 of adjusting the inventory at a merchant system.The actual gift items can be shipped after the buyer has confirmedpayment. When a gift bundle has been accepted, the gift transactionsystem 102 can coordinate delivery of the gift items from variousmerchants such that the gift items arrive together in a bundle. A softhold on the gift item can be place on a merchant system via the merchantbackend interface module 216 of FIG. 2 once the shipping address hasbeen provided.

Also in response to receiving the shipping address, the method 400 canfollow with a step 414 of generating a buyer feedback alert to the buyerbased on a buyer contact entry stored on the gift transaction system.The feedback alert can include the thank you note generated in the step410. The feedback alert can include a link for the buyer to make paymentfor the accepted gift. In at least one embodiment, the step 412 can bein response to receiving payment for the gift instead of in response toreceiving the shipping address. At any point throughout the steps of themethod 400, the method 400 can include generating an item suggestionsset. The item suggestions set can include a list of potential peoplethat the current recipient can send a gift to. The item suggestions setcan include a list of potential items to purchase from the merchant thatthe gift is purchased from. The items suggestions set can include acalendar of social events recorded on a social media network where agift giving opportunity is relevant.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a method of facilitating a giftexchange via a gift transaction system, such as the gift transactionsystem 102 of FIG. 1. The method 500 can begin with a step 502 ofdetermining an exchange intent to exchange an original gift selection.The exchange intent can be determined by receiving an interaction withthe recipient interface generated in the step 402 of FIG. 4, such as theinterface generated by the recipient interface module 204 of FIG. 2. Forexample, the exchange intent can be determined based on the recipientclicking an exchange mode button on the recipient interface. For anotherexample, the exchange intent can be determined based on the recipientbrowsing a merchant website and clicking on an exchange buttonindicating the newly selected item is to be traded with a pending gift.

The method 500 then follows with a step 504 of receiving an exchangeitem selection via the recipient interface. The recipient may beprompted to select additional or alternative gifts from sources outsidethe original online merchant. The exchange item selection can be a setof multiple items, from either the same merchant as the original gift orfrom different merchants. If the original gift was a set of multipleitems, the exchange item selection does not have to be the same numberof items (i.e., can be less or more items). The original price of thegift serves as stored credit, where the exchange items can be selectedwithout further payment if the price of the exchange item is lower thanthe original price. The recipient interface over the merchant storefront can modify the merchant store front such that the original priceof the gift is not revealed even during exchange. The price of potentialexchange items can also be redacted from the merchant store front, andonly an indication of whether a charge-free exchange can be made isrevealed on the recipient interface.

The gift transaction system 200 can provide an interface for a merchantstore to define an exchange network with other merchant stores, wheregift items from one merchant within the exchange network can beexchanged with gift items from another merchant on the exchange network.Other merchant stores can opt into the exchange network after theexchange network is created. The gift items from the exchange networkcan be prioritized by the curation module 224 such that a number of giftitems from alternative merchants on the exchange network are presentedto a recipient seeking to exchange an originally received gift item. Themerchant store closing the gift transaction (i.e., the merchant storepaid by the gift transaction) can be debited a referral fee to becredited to the referring merchant store of the original gift item thatwas exchanged for a gift item of the closing merchant store.

Upon receiving the exchange item selection, the method 500 also includesa step 506 of receiving a shipping address for the delivery of theexchange item selection. Upon confirming the exchange item selection andreceiving the shipping address, the method 500 follows with notifyingthe buyer based on a buyer contact entry stored on the gift transactionsystem in a step 508. Depending on the price of the exchange itemselection and the price of the original gift selection, the method 500can also include a step 510 of generating a gift balance credit or astep 512 of generating a balance invoice payment request. The step 510is executed by the gift transaction system when the price of theexchange item selection is smaller than the price of the original giftselection. The gift balance can be stored as a merchant store credit, agift card, or a multi-merchant store credit for merchants compatiblewith the gift transaction system 102. A gift card identifier can begenerated and stored on the gift transaction system. The step 512 isexecuted by the gift transaction system when the price of the exchangeitem selection is greater than the price of the original gift selection.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a buyer interface 600 embedded in amerchant website 602 in a gift customization page 604. The buyerinterface 600 can be activated via a browser-side script, such asJavaScript, that is part of the merchant website 602. The buyerinterface 600 can include one or more pages each with different elementsand functionalities to facilitate the buyer from sending a gift to atleast a recipient. It has been illustrated that the buyer interface 600is divided into different pages. However, it is understood thatdifferent elements of the buyer interface 600 can be divided differentlyinto other pages, or elements of the existing pages can be combined intoa single page.

In this example, the gift customization page 604 includes a recipientcontact entry 608, a greeting note 610, a delivery constraint 612, agift card section 614 including a gift icon 616, or any combinationthereof. The recipient contact entry 608 is where the buyer can inputthe recipient name and the recipient contact information, such as emailaddress, social network message, or cellular text message. The recipientcontact entry 608 can be just the recipient name if the buyer selectsthe option to print out a gift card notifying the recipient of the gift.The greeting note 610 is where the buyer can input a message to be sentto the recipient along with a notification of the gift. The deliveryconstraint 612 is where the buyer can input a delivery constraint on thegift transaction. The delivery constraint 612 may include an expirationdate of the gift, where past the expiration date the recipient would notbe able to accept the gift. The delivery constraint 612 may also includea delivery date of the notification of the gift to the recipient.

The gift card section 614 is generated by the gift transaction system102 of FIG. 1 as a decorated printable card to send to the recipient.The gift card section 614 can include the gift icon 616. The gift icon616 is a representation of the gift or set of gifts to be sent by thebuyer. The gift icon 616 can be an image, an animation, or aninteractive multimedia object, such as an interactive image capable ofbeing zoomed or rotated. The location of elements in the gift cardsection 614, the text within the gift card section 614, font size andstyle of various texts in the gift card section 614 are all customizablevia the buyer interface 600. The buyer interface 600 can includetemplates to customize the gift card section 614. The gift card section614 can be formatted to be printable into various standard gift cardsizes.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of the buyer interface 600 embedded in themerchant website 602 in a buyer information page 702. The buyerinformation page 702 includes a buyer contact entry 704. The buyercontact entry 704 is where the buyer can input his own name and contactinformation. The buyer name can be used to generate the gift cardsection 614 of FIG. 6.

The buyer contact information is used to close the gift transaction whenthe recipient accepts the gift. Optionally, the buyer information page702 can include a shipping information section 706 and a paymentinformation section 708. The shipping information section 706 can alertthe buyer that the recipient will provide the shipping address.Alternatively, the buyer has the option of providing the shippingaddress at the shipping information section 706. The payment informationsection 708 can alert the buyer that the payment transfer would becompleted after the recipient accepts the gift. Alternatively, the buyerhas the option of providing the payment information to complete the gifttransaction.

The buyer information page 702 can also include an estimation section710. The estimation section 710 estimates the cost of the gift for thebuyer. For example, the buyer interface module 202 can determine anestimation of shipping cost and an estimation of tax. The estimation ofshipping cost and tax can be facilitated by the merchant backendinterface module 216 of FIG. 2 where the merchant system 212 of FIG. 2can provide the cost estimations based on destination regions. The buyerhas the option of putting down the resident state of the recipient tohelp aid in the cost estimation. Cost estimation can also be based ongeo-targeting, social graph data, explicit hints from the buyer or therecipient, previous addresses, or any combination thereof. Once thebuyer information page 702 is completed, the buyer can click on a sendgift button to either immediately deliver the gift notification to therecipient or deliver the gift notification at a scheduled time based onthe delivery constraint 612 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of the buyer interface 600 embedded in themerchant website 602 in a gift confirmation page 802. The giftconfirmation page 802 includes a confirmation message 804 indicatingthat the gift has been sent or has been scheduled to be sent. The giftconfirmation page 802 can also include an up-sale section 806. Theup-sale section 806 can remind the buyer of upcoming social events thatmay warrant a gift giving occasion, such as birthdays, anniversaries,religious holidays, national holidays, other social events registered ona social media website, or any combination thereof.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a recipient interface 900 embedded inthe merchant website 602 in a gift alert page 902. The recipientinterface 900 can be activated via a browser-side script, such asJavaScript, that is part of the merchant website 602. The recipientinterface 900 can include one or more pages each with different elementsand functionalities to facilitate the recipient from responding to agift sent from at least one buyer. It has been illustrated that therecipient interface 900 is divided into different pages. However, it isunderstood that different elements of the recipient interface 900 can bedivided differently into other pages, or elements of the existing pagescan be combined into a single page.

In the gift alert page 902, a recipient is notified of a gift from abuyer. The gift alert page 902 includes a gift description section 904.The gift description section 904 can include a text or a multimediadescription of the gift or bundle of gifts being sent. The multimediadescription can include a graphical icon, a photograph, an interactiveimage, a video, or any combination thereof. The gift alert page 902 canalso include a gift variant selection section 906. The gift variantselection section 906 can include an interactive element to allow therecipient to select different variants of the gift. For example, thevariants can be customization of color and size.

The recipient via the gift alert page 902 of the recipient interface 900can accept the gift via an acceptance button 908. The recipient can alsoexchange the gift via an exchange button 910. The gift alert page 902can further include an item addition section 912. The item additionsection 912 is generated by the recipient interface 900 based on aprofile of the recipient facilitated by the merchant backend interfacemodule 216 of FIG. 2. The item addition section 912 can present otheritems for the recipient to purchase from the merchant in addition toaccepting the gift from the same merchant.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of the recipient interface 900 embeddedin the merchant website 602 in a gift shipment page 1002. The giftshipment page 1002 includes an interface to input shipping address forthe gift. The gift shipment page 1002 allows the recipient to change theshipping/delivery address even if the buyer has specified a shippingaddress already.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of the recipient interface 900 embeddedin the merchant website 602 in a note page 1102. The note page 1102 canreceive inputs from the recipient to denote a thank you note to thebuyer for the gift. The recipient can customize the thank you noteincluding responding with a gift transaction of his/her own. The thankyou note can include text, video, photo, audio, formatted greeting card,or any combination thereof.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of the recipient interface 900 embeddedin the merchant website 602 in an acceptance confirmation page 1202. Theacceptance confirmation page 1202 notifies the recipient that the giftfrom the buyer has been accepted. Once the gift has been accepted, thegift transaction system 102 can notify the merchant system 104 to placea reserve hold on the gift item via the merchant back end interface.Also in response to the gift being accepted, the gift transaction system102 can notify the buyer to authorize payment based on the buyer contactentry 704 of FIG. 7.

The acceptance confirmation page 1202 can include a gift suggestionsection 1204. The gift suggestion section 1204 can include links to sendgifts to a list of friends (i.e., user accounts socially connected tothe recipient) of the recipient through the gift transaction system 200of FIG. 1.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of an up-sale interface 1300 embedded inthe merchant website 602. The up-sale interface 1300 can be used tosuggest potential gifts to a buyer. The up-sale interface 1300 can becurated by the curation module 224 of FIG. 2, where a recommendationfeed is generated via the curation module 224 and assisted by profilinginformation from the analytics module 234 of FIG. 2.

The up-sale interface 1300 can include a gift list 1302, such as thegift lists stored on the gift list store 244 of FIG. 2. The gift list1302 enables a potential buyer of a gift to keep track of gift ideas.The up-sale interface 1300 can also include a gift guide 1304. The giftguide 1304 includes different lists of gift recommended by either themerchant system 212 of FIG. 2 or the curation module 224.

FIG. 14 is an illustration of a method of sending a gift via a buyerdevice 1402 and a recipient device 1404. The buyer device 1402 canidentify a target gift 1406 by a camera, such as taking a picture of theUPC code. Through the gift transaction system 102 of FIG. 1, the buyerdevice 1402 can instantly generate a gift card to send to the recipientdevice 1404. The recipient device 1404, having received the gift card,can then accept, exchange, or customize the target gift 1406.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example of a computer system 1500. The computersystem 1500 includes a processor, memory, non-volatile memory, and aninterface device. Various common components (e.g., cache memory) areomitted for illustrative simplicity. The computer system 1500 isintended to illustrate a hardware device on which any of the componentsdepicted in the example of FIGS. 1 and 2 (and any other componentsdescribed in this specification) can be implemented. The computer system1500 can be of any applicable known or convenient type. The componentsof the computer system 1500 can be coupled together via a bus or throughsome other known or convenient device.

This disclosure contemplates the computer system 1500 taking anysuitable physical form. As example and not by way of limitation,computer system 1500 may be an embedded computer system, asystem-on-chip (SOC), a single-board computer system (SBC) (such as, forexample, a computer-on-module (COM) or system-on-module (SOM)), adesktop computer system, a laptop or notebook computer system, aninteractive kiosk, a mainframe, a mesh of computer systems, a mobiletelephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a server, or acombination of two or more of these. Where appropriate, computer system1500 may include one or more computer systems 1500; be unitary ordistributed; span multiple locations; span multiple machines; or residein a cloud, which may include one or more cloud components in one ormore networks. Where appropriate, one or more computer systems 1500 mayperform without substantial spatial or temporal limitation one or moresteps of one or more methods described or illustrated herein. As anexample and not by way of limitation, one or more computer systems 1500may perform in real time or in batch mode one or more steps of one ormore methods described or illustrated herein. One or more computersystems 1500 may perform at different times or at different locationsone or more steps of one or more methods described or illustratedherein, where appropriate.

The processor may be, for example, a conventional microprocessor such asan Intel Pentium microprocessor or Motorola power PC microprocessor. Oneof skill in the relevant art will recognize that the terms“machine-readable (storage) medium” or “computer-readable (storage)medium” include any type of device that is accessible by the processor.

The memory is coupled to the processor by, for example, a bus. Thememory can include, by way of example but not limitation, random accessmemory (RAM), such as dynamic RAM (DRAM) and static RAM (SRAM). Thememory can be local, remote, or distributed.

The bus also couples the processor to the non-volatile memory and driveunit. The non-volatile memory is often a magnetic floppy or hard disk, amagnetic-optical disk, an optical disk, a read-only memory (ROM), suchas a CD-ROM, EPROM, or EEPROM, a magnetic or optical card, or anotherform of storage for large amounts of data. Some of this data is oftenwritten, by a direct memory access process, into memory during executionof software in the computer 1500. The non-volatile storage can be local,remote, or distributed. The non-volatile memory is optional becausesystems can be created with all applicable data available in memory. Atypical computer system will usually include at least a processor,memory, and a device (e.g., a bus) coupling the memory to the processor.

Software is typically stored in the non-volatile memory and/or the driveunit. Indeed, for large programs, it may not even be possible to storethe entire program in the memory. Nevertheless, it should be understoodthat for software to run, if necessary, it is moved to a computerreadable location appropriate for processing, and for illustrativepurposes, that location is referred to as the memory in this paper. Evenwhen software is moved to the memory for execution, the processor willtypically make use of hardware registers to store values associated withthe software, and local cache that, ideally, serves to speed upexecution. As used herein, a software program is assumed to be stored atany known or convenient location (from non-volatile storage to hardwareregisters) when the software program is referred to as “implemented in acomputer-readable medium.” A processor is considered to be “configuredto execute a program” when at least one value associated with theprogram is stored in a register readable by the processor.

The bus also couples the processor to the network interface device. Theinterface can include one or more of a modem or network interface. Itwill be appreciated that a modem or network interface can be consideredto be part of the computer system 1500. The interface can include ananalog modem, ISDN modem, cable modem, token ring interface, satellitetransmission interface (e.g., “direct PC”), or other interfaces forcoupling a computer system to other computer systems. The interface caninclude one or more input and/or output devices. The I/O devices caninclude, by way of example but not limitation, a keyboard, a mouse orother pointing device, disk drives, printers, a scanner, and other inputand/or output devices, including a display device. The display devicecan include, by way of example but not limitation, a cathode ray tube(CRT), liquid crystal display (LCD), or some other applicable known orconvenient display device. For simplicity, it is assumed thatcontrollers of any devices not depicted in the example of FIG. 15 residein the interface.

In operation, the computer system 1500 can be controlled by operatingsystem software that includes a file management system, such as a diskoperating system. One example of operating system software withassociated file management system software is the family of operatingsystems known as Windows® from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.,and their associated file management systems. Another example ofoperating system software with its associated file management systemsoftware is the Linux™ operating system and its associated filemanagement system. The file management system is typically stored in thenon-volatile memory and/or drive unit and causes the processor toexecute the various acts required by the operating system to input andoutput data and to store data in the memory, including storing files onthe non-volatile memory and/or drive unit.

Some portions of the detailed description may be presented in terms ofalgorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bitswithin a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions andrepresentations are the means used by those skilled in the dataprocessing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their workto others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally,conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of operations leading to adesired result. The operations are those requiring physicalmanipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily,these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capableof being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwisemanipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasonsof common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements,symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like.

It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar termsare to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and aremerely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unlessspecifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussion,it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizingterms such as “processing” or “computing” or “calculating” or“determining” or “displaying” or “generating” or the like, refer to theaction and processes of a computer system, or similar electroniccomputing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented asphysical (electronic) quantities within registers and memories of thecomputer system into other data similarly represented as physicalquantities within the computer system memories or registers or othersuch information storage, transmission or display devices.

The algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently relatedto any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general purposesystems may be used with programs in accordance with the teachingsherein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specializedapparatus to perform the methods of some embodiments. The requiredstructure for a variety of these systems will appear from thedescription below. In addition, the techniques are not described withreference to any particular programming language, and variousembodiments may thus be implemented using a variety of programminglanguages.

In alternative embodiments, the machine operates as a standalone deviceor may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networkeddeployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of a server or aclient machine in a client-server network environment, or as a peermachine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment.

The machine may be a server computer, a client computer, a personalcomputer (PC), a tablet PC, a laptop computer, a set-top box (STB), apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, an iPhone, aBlackberry, a processor, a telephone, a web appliance, a network router,switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing a set ofinstructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be takenby that machine.

While the machine-readable medium or machine-readable storage medium isshown in an exemplary embodiment to be a single medium, the term“machine-readable medium” and “machine-readable storage medium” shouldbe taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., acentralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches andservers) that store the one or more sets of instructions. The term“machine-readable medium” and “machine-readable storage medium” shallalso be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing, encodingor carrying a set of instructions for execution by the machine and thatcause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies ormodules of the presently disclosed technique and innovation.

In general, the routines executed to implement the embodiments of thedisclosure, may be implemented as part of an operating system or aspecific application, component, program, object, module or sequence ofinstructions referred to as “computer programs.” The computer programstypically comprise one or more instructions set at various times invarious memory and storage devices in a computer, and that, when readand executed by one or more processing units or processors in acomputer, cause the computer to perform operations to execute elementsinvolving the various aspects of the disclosure.

Moreover, while embodiments have been described in the context of fullyfunctioning computers and computer systems, those skilled in the artwill appreciate that the various embodiments are capable of beingdistributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that thedisclosure applies equally regardless of the particular type of machineor computer-readable media used to actually effect the distribution.

Further examples of machine-readable storage media, machine-readablemedia, or computer-readable (storage) media include but are not limitedto recordable type media such as volatile and non-volatile memorydevices, floppy and other removable disks, hard disk drives, opticaldisks (e.g., Compact Disk Read-Only Memory (CD ROMS), Digital VersatileDisks, (DVDs), etc.), among others, and transmission type media such asdigital and analog communication links.

In some circumstances, operation of a memory device, such as a change instate from a binary one to a binary zero or vice-versa, for example, maycomprise a transformation, such as a physical transformation. Withparticular types of memory devices, such a physical transformation maycomprise a physical transformation of an article to a different state orthing. For example, but without limitation, for some types of memorydevices, a change in state may involve an accumulation and storage ofcharge or a release of stored charge. Likewise, in other memory devices,a change of state may comprise a physical change or transformation inmagnetic orientation or a physical change or transformation in molecularstructure, such as from crystalline to amorphous or vice versa. Theforegoing is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all examples inwhich a change in state for a binary one to a binary zero or vice-versain a memory device may comprise a transformation, such as a physicaltransformation. Rather, the foregoing is intended as illustrativeexamples.

A storage medium typically may be non-transitory or comprise anon-transitory device. In this context, a non-transitory storage mediummay include a device that is tangible, meaning that the device has aconcrete physical form, although the device may change its physicalstate. Thus, for example, non-transitory refers to a device remainingtangible despite this change in state.

The above description and drawings are illustrative and are not to beconstrued as limiting the invention to the precise forms disclosed.Persons skilled in the relevant art can appreciate that manymodifications and variations are possible in light of the abovedisclosure. Numerous specific details are described to provide athorough understanding of the disclosure. However, in certain instances,well-known or conventional details are not described in order to avoidobscuring the description.

Reference in this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment”means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic describedin connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodimentof the disclosure. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” invarious places in the specification are not necessarily all referring tothe same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodimentsmutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, various features aredescribed which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others.Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirementsfor some embodiments but not other embodiments.

As used herein, the terms “connected,” “coupled,” or any variant thereofwhen applying to modules of a system, means any connection or coupling,either direct or indirect, between two or more elements; the coupling ofconnection between the elements can be physical, logical, or anycombination thereof. Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below,”and words of similar import, when used in this application, shall referto this application as a whole and not to any particular portions ofthis application. Where the context permits, words in the above DetailedDescription using the singular or plural number may also include theplural or singular number respectively. The word “or,” in reference to alist of two or more items, covers all of the following interpretationsof the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list,or any combination of the items in the list.

Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the invention may beembodied in other forms and manners not shown below. It is understoodthat the use of relational terms, if any, such as first, second, top andbottom, and the like are used solely for distinguishing one entity oraction from another, without necessarily requiring or implying any suchactual relationship or order between such entities or actions.

While processes or blocks are presented in a given order, alternativeembodiments may perform routines having steps, or employ systems havingblocks, in a different order, and some processes or blocks may bedeleted, moved, added, subdivided, substituted, combined, and/ormodified to provide alternative or sub combinations. Each of theseprocesses or blocks may be implemented in a variety of different ways.Also, while processes or blocks are at times shown as being performed inseries, these processes or blocks may instead be performed in parallel,or may be performed at different times. Further any specific numbersnoted herein are only examples: alternative implementations may employdiffering values or ranges.

The teachings of the disclosure provided herein can be applied to othersystems, not necessarily the system described above. The elements andacts of the various embodiments described above can be combined toprovide further embodiments.

Any patents and applications and other references noted above, includingany that may be listed in accompanying filing papers, are incorporatedherein by reference. Aspects of the disclosure can be modified, ifnecessary, to employ the systems, functions, and concepts of the variousreferences described above to provide yet further embodiments of thedisclosure.

These and other changes can be made to the disclosure in light of theabove Detailed Description. While the above description describescertain embodiments of the disclosure, and describes the best modecontemplated, no matter how detailed the above appears in text, theteachings can be practiced in many ways. Details of the system may varyconsiderably in its implementation details, while still beingencompassed by the subject matter disclosed herein. As noted above,particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspectsof the disclosure should not be taken to imply that the terminology isbeing redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics,features, or aspects of the disclosure with which that terminology isassociated. In general, the terms used in the following claims shouldnot be construed to limit the disclosure to the specific embodimentsdisclosed in the specification, unless the above Detailed Descriptionsection explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope ofthe disclosure encompasses not only the disclosed embodiments, but alsoall equivalent ways of practicing or implementing the disclosure underthe claims.

While certain aspects of the disclosure are presented below in certainclaim forms, the inventors contemplate the various aspects of thedisclosure in any number of claim forms. Any claims intended to betreated under 35 U.S.C. § 112, ¶6 will begin with the words “means for”.Accordingly, the applicant reserves the right to add additional claimsafter filing the application to pursue such additional claim forms forother aspects of the disclosure.

The terms used in this specification generally have their ordinarymeanings in the art, within the context of the disclosure, and in thespecific context where each term is used. Certain terms that are used todescribe the disclosure are discussed above, or elsewhere in thespecification, to provide additional guidance to the practitionerregarding the description of the disclosure. For convenience, certainterms may be highlighted, for example using capitalization, italicsand/or quotation marks. The use of highlighting has no influence on thescope and meaning of a term; the scope and meaning of a term is thesame, in the same context, whether or not it is highlighted. It will beappreciated that same element can be described in more than one way.

Consequently, alternative language and synonyms may be used for any oneor more of the terms discussed herein, nor is any special significanceto be placed upon whether or not a term is elaborated or discussedherein. Synonyms for certain terms are provided. A recital of one ormore synonyms does not exclude the use of other synonyms. The use ofexamples anywhere in this specification including examples of any termsdiscussed herein is illustrative only, and is not intended to furtherlimit the scope and meaning of the disclosure or of any exemplifiedterm. Likewise, the disclosure is not limited to various embodimentsgiven in this specification.

Without intent to further limit the scope of the disclosure, examples ofinstruments, apparatus, methods and their related results according tothe embodiments of the present disclosure are given below. Note thattitles or subtitles may be used in the examples for convenience of areader, which in no way should limit the scope of the disclosure. Unlessotherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein havethe same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in theart to which this disclosure pertains. In the case of conflict, thepresent document, including definitions will control.

Some portions of this description describe the embodiments of theinvention in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations ofoperations on information. These algorithmic descriptions andrepresentations are commonly used by those skilled in the dataprocessing arts to convey the substance of their work effectively toothers skilled in the art. These operations, while describedfunctionally, computationally, or logically, are understood to beimplemented by computer programs or equivalent electrical circuits,microcode, or the like. Furthermore, it has also proven convenient attimes, to refer to these arrangements of operations as modules, withoutloss of generality. The described operations and their associatedmodules may be embodied in software, firmware, hardware, or anycombinations thereof.

Any of the steps, operations, or processes described herein may beperformed or implemented with one or more hardware or software modules,alone or in combination with other devices. In one embodiment, asoftware module is implemented with a computer program productcomprising a computer-readable medium containing computer program code,which can be executed by a computer processor for performing any or allof the steps, operations, or processes described.

Embodiments of the invention may also relate to an apparatus forperforming the operations herein. This apparatus may be speciallyconstructed for the required purposes, and/or it may comprise ageneral-purpose computing device selectively activated or reconfiguredby a computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer programmay be stored in a non-transitory, tangible computer readable storagemedium, or any type of media suitable for storing electronicinstructions, which may be coupled to a computer system bus.Furthermore, any computing systems referred to in the specification mayinclude a single processor or may be architectures employing multipleprocessor designs for increased computing capability.

Embodiments of the invention may also relate to a product that isproduced by a computing process described herein. Such a product maycomprise information resulting from a computing process, where theinformation is stored on a non-transitory, tangible computer readablestorage medium and may include any embodiment of a computer programproduct or other data combination described herein.

The language used in the specification has been principally selected forreadability and instructional purposes, and it may not have beenselected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. Itis therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited not bythis detailed description, but rather by any claims that issue on anapplication based hereon. Accordingly, the disclosure of the embodimentsof the invention is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, ofthe scope of the invention, which is set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:generating, by one or more processors of a gift transaction system, abuyer interface, wherein the buyer interface is generated by a buyerinterface module of the gift transaction system, wherein the buyerinterface module is an Application Programming Interface (API) of anapplication, wherein a store front interface module of the gifttransaction system uses the buyer interface module to modify a digitalstore front of a merchant system to display the buyer interface, andwherein the buyer interface facilitates access to an inventory databaseof the merchant system; receiving input corresponding to selection of agift item, wherein selection of the gift item uses information from theinventory database, and wherein the input is received through the buyerinterface; generating a recipient interface, wherein the recipientinterface is generated by a recipient interface module of the gifttransaction system, wherein the recipient interface module is an API ofthe application, wherein the store front interface module uses therecipient interface to modify a digital store front of a merchant systemto display the recipient interface, and wherein the recipient interfacefacilitates access to the gift item; and receiving input correspondingto customization of the gift item, wherein customization includes aselection that modifies the gift item, wherein customization usesinformation from the inventory database, and wherein the input isreceived through the recipient interface.
 2. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 1, wherein the selection that modifies the gift itemincludes selection of a variant of the gift item.
 3. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the selection thatmodifies the gift item includes exchanging the gift item for a differentgift item.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, furthercomprising: generating a gift card when a value of the different giftitem is less than a value of the gift item.
 5. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 3, further comprising: issuing a request for anadditional payment when a value of the different gift item is greaterthan a value of the gift item.
 6. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 3, wherein the different gift item is associated with a differentmerchant system.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, furthercomprising receiving input corresponding to a photograph, wherein thebuyer interface is generated in response to receiving the photograph. 8.The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the inputcorresponding to selection of the gift item includes a productidentifier associated with the gift item.
 9. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 1, further comprising: determining that a time periodassociated with a shopping cart interface has expired, wherein theshopping cart interface is associated with the digital store front,wherein the buyer interface is generated in response to thedetermination.
 10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving input corresponding to a constraint, wherein theconstraint includes a time limit for accepting the gift item.
 11. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: determiningone or more recommended items, wherein the buyer interface displays theone or more recommended items.
 12. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 1, further comprising: generating a printable graphic, wherein theprintable graphic is related to the gift item.
 13. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: submitting arequest for payment for the gift item, wherein the request is submittedin response to an input received through the buyer interface.
 14. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: submitting arequest for payment for the gift item, wherein the request is submittedin response to an input received through the recipient interface, andwherein the input indicates initiation of an adjustment of the inventorydatabase of the merchant system.
 15. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 1, further comprising: receiving input corresponding to apersonalized gift message, wherein the input is received through thebuyer interface.
 16. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, furthercomprising: generating a gift greeting page; and receiving an inputcorresponding to customization of the gift greeting page.
 17. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: setting ahold status for the gift item, wherein the hold status is set inresponse to a communication received through the buyer interface, andwherein the hold status indicates that the gift item has been reservedfor purchase.
 18. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, furthercomprising: determining one or more items that are related to the giftitem; and displaying the one or more items using the recipientinterface.
 19. A gift transaction system, comprising: one or moreprocessors; and a non-transitory computer-readable medium includinginstructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, causethe one or more processors to perform operations including: generating,by one or more processors of a gift transaction system, a buyerinterface, wherein the buyer interface is generated by a buyer interfacemodule of the gift transaction system, wherein the buyer interfacemodule is an Application Programming Interface (API) of an application,wherein a store front interface module of the gift transaction systemuses the buyer interface module to modify a digital store front of amerchant system to display the buyer interface, and wherein the buyerinterface facilitates access to an inventory database of the merchantsystem; receiving input corresponding to selection of a gift item,wherein selection of the gift item uses information from the inventorydatabase, and wherein the input is received through the buyer interface;generating a recipient interface, wherein the recipient interface isgenerated by a recipient interface module of the gift transactionsystem, wherein the recipient interface module is an API of theapplication, wherein the store front interface module uses the recipientinterface to modify a digital store front of a merchant system todisplay the recipient interface, and wherein the recipient interfacefacilitates access to the gift item; and receiving input correspondingto customization of the gift item, wherein customization includes aselection that modifies the gift item, wherein customization usesinformation from the inventory database, and wherein the input isreceived through the recipient interface.
 20. A computer-program producttangibly embodied in a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium,including instructions that, when executed by one or more processors ofa gift transaction system, cause the one or more processors to:generate, a buyer interface, wherein the buyer interface is generated bya buyer interface module of the gift transaction system, wherein thebuyer interface module is an Application Programming Interface (API) ofan application, wherein a store front interface module of the gifttransaction systemuses the buyer interface module to modify a digitalstore front of a merchant system to display the buyer interface, andwherein the buyer interface facilitates access to an inventory databaseof the merchant system; receive input corresponding to selection of agift item, wherein selection of the gift item uses information from theinventory database, and wherein the input is received through the buyerinterface; generate a recipient interface, wherein the recipientinterface is generated by a recipient interface module of the gifttransaction system, wherein the recipient interface module is an API ofthe application, wherein the store front interface module uses therecipient interface to modify a digital store front of a merchant systemto display the recipient interface, and wherein the recipient interfacefacilitates access to the gift item; and receive input corresponding tocustomization of the gift item, wherein customization includes aselection that modifies the gift item, wherein customization usesinformation from the inventory database, and wherein the input isreceived through the recipient interface.
 21. The gift transactionsystem of claim 19, wherein the selection that modifies the gift itemincludes selection of a variant of the gift item.
 22. The gifttransaction system of claim 19, wherein the selection that modifies thegift item includes exchanging the gift item for a different gift item.23. The gift transaction system of claim 19, wherein the non-transitorycomputer-readable medium further includes instructions that, whenexecuted by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processorsto perform operations including: submitting a request for payment forthe gift item, wherein the request is submitted in response to an inputreceived through the buyer interface.
 24. The gift transaction system ofclaim 19, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium furtherincludes instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors,cause the one or more processors to perform operations including:submitting a request for payment for the gift item, wherein the requestis submitted in response to an input received through the recipientinterface, and wherein the input indicates initiation of an adjustmentof the inventory database of the merchant system.
 25. The gifttransaction system of claim 19, wherein the non-transitorycomputer-readable medium further includes instructions that, whenexecuted by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processorsto perform operations including: setting a hold status for the giftitem, wherein the hold status is set in response to a communicationreceived through the buyer interface, and wherein the hold statusindicates that the gift item has been reserved for purchase.
 26. Thecomputer-program product of claim 20, wherein the selection thatmodifies the gift item includes selection of a variant of the gift item.27. The computer-program product of claim 20, wherein the selection thatmodifies the gift item includes exchanging the gift item for a differentgift item.
 28. The computer-program product of claim 20, includinginstructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, causethe one or more processors to: submit a request for payment for the giftitem, wherein the request is submitted in response to an input receivedthrough the buyer interface.
 29. The computer-program product of claim20, further including instructions that, when executed by the one ormore processors, cause the one or more processors to: submit a requestfor payment for the gift item, wherein the request is submitted inresponse to an input received through the recipient interface, andwherein the input indicates initiation of an adjustment of the inventorydatabase of the merchant system.
 30. The computer-program product ofclaim 20, further including instructions that, when executed by the oneor more processors, cause the one or more processors to: set a holdstatus for the gift item, wherein the hold status is set in response toa communication received through the buyer interface, and wherein thehold status indicates that the gift item has been reserved for purchase.